Meet Armelle Ngo | French woman, artist, mother, wife, yogi, friend

We had the good fortune of connecting with Armelle Ngo and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Armelle, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?

I have come to painting quite organically. Even though I pursued a career in translation and interpretation earlier in life, I have always been drawn to arts. I would draw, paint, model with clay or even sew as a child and teen, and using my hands was always a source of satisfaction.Growing up in Paris, I frequently visited world famous art museums, and these years have been very formative for me as they shaped my vision and my sensitivity.

I moved to California with my husband and our three children 11 years ago. While raising our children, I taught art at local school as part of Young At Art, a volunteer-based organization that strives to meet the critical need for art education in public schools.

During the pandemic, I spent my suddenly plentiful free time at home painting beach life. I paint because it makes me feel good. There was no career plan. I started posting my creations on social media, and positive feedback made me realize the impact of my creations. So I embraced it. When I was young, being a professional artist was an impossible dream that I did not even attempt to realize. I just created art for myself. Like most things in my life and most decisions I have had to make, I have followed my desires, my curiosity and my intuition. This is what’s happening now too.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

It is hard to say what sets me apart. Each artist is different but in my case, my art is my narrative and my artistic vision is probably tinted by my life journey as a traveler., I have lived in France, Switzerland, Germany, Ireland, and now in the United States.

I have connected with a lot of different cultures, and borrowed a little bit of each of them to make my own along the way. I have Irish twins for example!

More seriously, the hurdles I have encountered were more internal ones. It takes time for a self-taught artist like me to call herself an artist. It took me time to put myself out there and show my work. Where I come from, I felt that an artist is someone who went to art school, and who belonged to an elite. So I had to change my mindset to open up to the discovery of my purpose.

Because art is one form of therapy for me, I paint to make peace with myself and to connect with my soul. That being said, exposing this personal process in the limelight is uncomfortable. I have to be vulnerable to reach out and connect with others too. I have learned that. And I am flattered by the reception my art has had. I feel love and appreciation. And yes, others are to be thanked for that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If my friends from France came to visit, I’d pick them up at the airport and I’d drive straight to Hermosa Beach. After a mandatory sunset walk on the strand we’d have dinner downtown at Tower 12 or Playa Hermosa. The Comedy Club just reopened so that would be on the list for a good laugh. Next morning we’d pack the camping gear and drive East to Joshua Tree to camp among the desert boulders and take in all the desert colors. After two days, we would drive north to camp in Sequoia National Park., Three days is just enough to visit all the park has to offer, so after that we’d head back South West to San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara on the way to Los Angeles. We would tour Little Tokyo and spend a day at the Getty museum and the LACMA, Lastly, I would throw in a day in Pasadena to wade in the wondrous universe of the Huntington Gardens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?

Yes, so many people have been pivotal here: please let me name just a few of them: first, my husband. He is artistic and my best critic. In 2019, Eau d’Ile is a life coach who planted a seed in my brain at a time where I was open for it to grow. She was the first person to confront me with the possibility of something else. And then Christine was there to encourage me to put my art for sale.

Marie-Sophie ordered me my first painting commission, Rafael from Indivisible_Arts helped me realize the direction I wanted to take in life. The Young At Art organization has been instrumental too. These people have given me the courage to look at my dream in the eye and to go get it. They were the first to believe in me as a professional artist and they have pushed me to show my work, have given me the means to do so or they were the first to buy it. I owe them so much.

Website: https://armellengo.wixsite.com/armellesatelierla

Instagram: @armellesatelier